Published on : 05/06/2022 – 22:55
Invested by the presidential majority to represent the French abroad from Spain, Portugal, Monaco and Andorra, Manuel Valls was eliminated on Sunday in the first round, a new fiasco for the former Prime Minister after the failure of his candidacy for the municipal elections in Barcelona.
The former Prime Minister of François Hollande and candidate for the presidential majority, Manuel Valls, announced on Sunday June 5 his defeat in the legislative elections in the fifth constituency of French people living abroad.
“I take note of the results on the 5th circo of the FDE (French from abroad)”, he wrote on Twitter. “My thanks also go to the presidential majority for their nomination and their support. If dissent and division have sown confusion, I cannot ignore my score and the fact that my candidacy has not convinced. An election is a moment of truth,” he added. “It is up to me lucidly to draw the consequences. Life is good enough to quietly turn the pages,” continued Manuel Valls before closing his Twitter account.
Manuel Valls had been invested by La République en Marche – since renamed “Renaissance” – to the detriment of outgoing deputy Stéphane Vojetta, who presented himself as a dissident.
It was the candidate of the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (Nupes), Renaud Le Berre, who came out on top according to his formation, in this fifth constituency of French people living abroad, which brings together the Spain, Portugal, Monaco and Andorra and has approximately 120,000 registered voters.
“To block”
This failure marks a new setback for Manuel Valls, former heavyweight of the Socialist Party who left French political life four years ago to try in vain in 2019 to conquer the town hall of Barcelona, his hometown.
Convinced of being able to “win” these municipal elections, after his failure in 2017 in the socialist primaries for the French presidential election, he only came fourth with around 13% of the vote behind the Catalan independence candidate and the outgoing left-wing mayor Ada Colau who been renewed.
In a relationship with Susana Gallardo, rich heiress of a Catalan pharmaceutical company, Manuel Valls had finally left the Barcelona city council in 2021 to return to France as a columnist in television programs.
The announcement on May 5 of the investiture of the former Prime Minister had the effect of a bomb in the fifth constituency of French people living abroad, especially among French people residing in Spain.
Stéphane Vojetta announced on Twitter that he had qualified for the second round of the legislative elections on June 19 against the candidate of the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (Nupes) Renaud Le Berre.
“The final results confirm it: I am qualified for the 2nd round against the candidate of Nupes. This confirms the validity of my approach since the 1st day. I now ask for the support of my political family and the presidential majority for Round 2,” he wrote.
The fifth constituency of French nationals abroad includes Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Monaco. Manuel Valls calls, for his part, the voters of the constituency to “block” the candidate of Nupes.
With Reuters and AFP